When Two Worlds Collide
by theonlineidofme
Summary: Taichi discovers a monster from another world after it falls out of his dad's computer. He is suspicious and frightened of the creature the first calls itself Botamon, then Koromon, and then other names. However, he must navigate what Botamon is and the apparent friendliness of the monster. And the strange attachment between Botamon and Taichi that will alter what is to come.
1. Computer Monster

Author's note: It has been a long time since I've posted anything. I've been growing in my writing, having some snippets on tumblr, and now I finally have a revised chapter to share from a long fic! While I will be posting it here, it will also be shared on my AO3, under the same name!

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Taichi woke up. He rolled onto his back and twitched his toes. He rubbed his eyes with a yawn. He sat up in bed. P_ee…potty._

He shoved the blanket off with another yawn. He stretched as he crawled onto his knees. He reached the edge of the bed and carefully turned so he could climb down the ladder. He climbed down, and he felt a twitch below his stomach and tried not to pee.

_Pee…now…_

Taichi's feet touched the floor. He let go of the ladder too early. He stumbled back. He turned towards the door, rubbing his eyes as he made his way out.

_Pee…! _Taichi almost said it.

Taichi blinked as he made his way out of the room. He dropped his arm. Then he made his way to the toilet. He flicked on a light and flinched.

_Pee!_ He jolted at the thought.

Taichi rushed inside. He shut the door and hurried to the toilet. He threw his pants down. He gave out a sigh as he felt the relieving rush of pee.

Taichi flushed, pulled up his pants, and remembered to wash his hands. He hit the light and stumbled out of the bedroom. He yawned.

_Bed…time for bed…_Taichi closed the bathroom door and walked down the hall back to his room. He stopped as he heard a buzzing and saw a light coming from his papa's computer room.

"Papa? Mama?" Taichi slowly made his way to the dim light. "Hikari?" His bare feet rubbed the floor. Taichi yawned again and rubbed one of his eyes. He paused at the door to his papa's computer room. The door had not been shut, so he pushed it open.

The computer room was empty - his parents and sister were not here. Taichi took a step towards the computer. The screen was lit with an orange light that hurt his eyes. It flickered, like the lights during a storm.

_Why is the computer on…?_ Taichi wondered. He grabbed the chair.

Taichi turned the chair towards him. He crawled onto the chair, and had to grab the desk as it rolled. He gasped as he slipped. Once he was steady on his knees he turned towards the flickering computer. There were lots of little, blinking squares. There were soft thumps in his head.

The squares began to change shape. The buzzing became louder. It waved in Taichi's head. He winced as the noise got louder. The squares came together to form a new, rounder shape. It reminded Taichi of -

"An egg?" Taichi whispered. He blinked and slipped to sit in the chair. He reached out and touched the computer screen. He pressed his hand against the computer. The egg was bigger than his hand. Then Taichi's hand fell _into_ the computer. The image wavered like bath water. He fell and smacked his face against the computer. His hand slipped out, but it burned. Taichi yelled.

He jerked back. His face stung from the smack and his hand burned. The chair slid back and Taichi crashed to the floor. He blinked at the glowing computer above him. The glow flickered. Something fell forward. Taichi's eyes went wide. He threw his hands up, mouth opened to yell, and his right hand burning hotter than omelets. The room blurred and tears slid down his face.

The egg smacked his hands. He caught it before it smacked his face. His hand burned like a bad sunburn. Taichi cried and then dropped the egg.

Taichi yelled as his face twitched with pain. The smacked the floor after hitting him. He pressed his okay hand to his nose. He tucked his right hand under his arm and the pain ebbed. Then he heard a crack. He tensed. He looked over beside him.

The egg had rolled away from him, but it was still close enough that he could see the outlines of the splotchy green egg. It had a crack that grew, and then more cracks. The pieces fell to the floor.

Taichi watched with wide brown eyes. Then the splotchy egg burst and instead of a weird splotchy green that Taichi remembered felt like an egg, something with black fur and big - eyes? Taichi thought the yellow things on the fur thing were monstrous - shook off egg flecks. One of them hit Taichi's eye.

"What're - ?" Taichi looked back up at the computer. Then he looked back at the thing from the computer. "Huh?"

The black fuzzy thing flew at him. Taichi scrambled under the desk. His hand hurt as he whacked it against the floor. He smacked his head against the desk leg. The little boy groaned. He clutched his head. He scooted back with eyes tight. He felt tears. His back pressed against the wall. The computer hummed.

"Boo?" The fuzzy thing bopped Taichi's nose. It inhaled against his face. Taichi blinked at the fuzzy creature. He then heard a whirring.

"Huh?" Taichi moaned. He turned his head towards the computer. The screen was glowing brighter and brighter. Taichi gasped and began pushing himself up.

"Ow…" Taichi closed his eyes. His whole arm ached. The light was still there and growing bigger.

"Boo!" The light suddenly vanished. There was a loud pop. Glass shattered. Taichi opened his eyes. He began to stand.

"Boo! Boo!" The creature cooed, like Hikari had when she had been younger. "Ba! Bo bah!" Taichi felt the fuzzy thing rub against his leg. He ignored it and stepped toward the computer. He paused when something brushed his toes./p

"Mama and Papa are going to be so mad…" Taichi stepped back, and his hand hurt again. Taichi tripped. He landed on his bottom and clutched his hand. He dug his thumb into the pain./p

"Boo?" Taichi felt the fuzzy thing crawl into his lap and press itself against his stomach. "Bah, boo?"

Ears twitched against his stomach. Taichi bit his lip and looked down at the creature. His hands shook.

"It hurts…" Taichi muttered. He rested his hands onto the fuzzy thing. He pushed against its ears. He sniffed as tears filled his eyes.

"Ah!" Taichi screamed and he fell onto his back when light filled his eyes. His hair brushed against his face, and his head hit the floor.

"Okay?"

Taichi blinked. He turned towards the door.

"Hikari?" There was nobody, or Taichi saw nobody. The room was dark, and the computer had been turned off.

"Here," the small voice said. Taichi rolled to his side and felt something brush against his face. Big, yellow eyes were near his face. They were like Miko's in the dark.

"I…uh…" Taichi said. He blinked. "You talk..?" Taichi shook.

"Hikari?" The fuzzy thing came closer to his face and repeated his sister's name.

Taichi slide on the floor. He scrambled away before he hit the wall.

"No! No! NO!" Taichi screamed. "Monster!"

"Mon - ster?" Taichi heard the monster coming closer and began to cry. "No, no, no…" Taichi pushed himself up to stand.

Hikari was still sleeping, and his parents were sleeping. Taichi made his hands into fists. His hand burned again.

"I - I'll stop you!" Taichi declared, though he continued to shake. He took a step forward.

"Huh?" he asked and he looked out to the door. Someone - or…the monster - was opening it.

A soft light filtered from the door. The light must be from the bedroom. Taichi still flinched at the light. There was a soft whistle. Taichi blinked, and saw his sister.

"H - Hikari?" Taichi asked. Hikari stepped inside. "Wait, there's a - "

The monster had gone up to Hikari, and was nuzzling her feet like Miko did.

_…Maybe it's a funny looking cat._ Taichi swallowed. His mouth was dry.

Another soft whistle came from Hikari's mouth. Taichi blinked at her, and rubbed his eyes. She looked up from the monster rubbing on her feet. Another whistle sounded as they blinked at each other.

"I…Hikari, get away! It might, I…It came from the computer!" Taichi rushed up and grabbed the fuzzy monster cat. He pulled into towards him. He stamped his feet.

The whistle dropped from Hikari's mouth. Taichi flinched and almost dropped the monster.

"TaichiHikari, HikariTaichi?" the monster turned in Taichi's hands. First it looked at Hikari before turning to him with big yellow eyes. Like lightbulbs.

"I'm Yagami Hikari. Please call me Hikari," Hikari answered. The whistle bounced against her pajamas. Taichi blinked at his younger sister.

"Hikari," the cat monster repeated. Its ears twitched against his arms. They looked like cat ears. Taichi felt them twitch again as Hikari laughed.

"Yes! You're good at learning," Hikari said. She smiled at the monster.

Taichi looked up with big eyes. Hikari blinked at him and pulled a frown. Taichi scowled back and the thing moved in his arms again. He looked down. His grip loosened. The cat monster jumped to Hikari and Taichi fell back. He landed on his bottom again and heard Hikari giggle. The tears returned and started to fall.

"What's your name?"

"…Botamon," the monster answered. Taichi blinked at the dark thing in Hikari's arms. Hikari giggled.

"Botamon? How is that a name?" Hikari asked. She giggled. Taichi pushed himself up with a scowl. He turned and stumbled to the door.

"If he could surprise - Botamon, Hikari would remind Taichi - with light, then he could send it back.

_But where is back_? Taichi tripped over his feet. He let out a yell before landing on the ground. He smacked his face and his arms were pinned beneath him.

They dug into his tummy. He let out a whimper as his tummy and face hurt.

"Taichi-mon! Taichi-mon!" Botamon yelled. Taichi squirmed on the ground.

"Where are you going?" Hikari asked. "Botamon?"

Taichi felt something land on his back. Taichi tensed. He pressed his face against the floor. Taichi gave a muffled yell. He suddenly rolled and the monster squealed. It hit the door as it fled.

There was a sharp whistle from Hikari. Taichi could tell she was upset with him. Taichi rolled onto his back. His hurt hand burned again as he lay on it. He blinked and saw flashes of green numbers. He shook his head as more tears fell down his face.

"It's a bad thing!" Taichi cried. He felt like a baby. He was the older brother, he shouldn't be scared of it. He should be protecting Hikari. He should be more willing to fight it. "A bad thing that - that - "

Taichi cried and held his hand to his chest. It hurt so bad and he wanted his mama to make it better. He was sore and something dribbled out of his nose.  
Hikari whistled at Taichi. It was low like a hum. She touched his sore hand. Taichi sniffed his runny nose. He pressed his free hand to it. He felt snot and something else - his nose hurt a lot - run down it. Hikari pulled his hand away from his chest.

"Hikari," Taichi cried. "W - we need…to…to…"

"Taichi-mon, Hikari-mon?" Taichi flinched at the voice. He pulled his hand away from Hikari's. He held it to his chest and kept his gaze away from the door.

"Botamon," Hikari said. "Are you okay?"

Taichi glanced over at her. She toddled to the door. He saw the black blob that was Botamon. Hikari picked it up. Taichi sniffed and backed away. He couldn't protect Hikari if she wasn't afraid of it, if it didn't seem to be hurting her.

_But it hurt me!_ Taichi thought. _Why isn't it hurting her?_

His feet brushed something on the floor. He stopped. The computer was broken, and his papa was going to be mad. And his mama, especially if he got hurt.

"You can come to bed with me," Hikari said. She picked up the monster - Botamon - and heard a soft whistle. He watched them leave. The walls glittered with squares.

_I - I should…but -_ Taichi bent down and touched what was on the floor. It was small pieces. Smaller than puzzle pieces. Taichi frowned as he tried to think of what it must be, because he was sure either his mama or papa had told him. His musings were interrupted by a flash.

The computer had come back on, but it was different than Taichi remembered seeing it. Numbers made the colors different than before. Before the egg came out. It almost looked like a painting. But cleaner than any he tried to make for Hikari and their mama and papa. Then the computer went off.

Taichi blinked. His fingers touched the broken screen of the computer. His head hurt and his body shook. Taichi blinked again as he stepped away.

_I need - I need -_

He couldn't tell his mama and papa, could he? He had broken the computer. His _papa's_ computer. Taichi turned and hurried to his room. Glass cracked on the floor as he kicked some of it.

_A dream!_ Taichi opened the door and went inside. He wiped glass from his feet and then his hands. He could be dreaming - and tried not to think of the lack of soccer and omelets - and grabbed the ladder. He gripped it - his hand hurt again and he sniffed back tears. He sneezed and his nose burned. He saw the monster shift on Hikari's bed. Taichi gasped as he met it scary yellow eyes.

"Taichi-mon?" the monster purred.

"I - " Taichi's mouth was dry again. Snot and blood dripped into his mouth. He made a harsh gasp. He glared at the monster, and forced a face. "I should have made you into an omelet."

Taichi hurried to climb the ladder. He slipped a couple of times before he gripped his bed. He heard Hikari make a loud burst from her whistle.

"Omelet? Omelet, Hikari-mon?" the monster asked.

"It was mean," Hikari whispered. "Go to sleep, Botamon."

Taichi heard Hikari and Botamon settle down. The monster was quiet. Taichi crawled onto his bed and snuggled into his blanket. He closed his eyes.

_This dream will be over soon,_ Taichi thought. _Then I can have some good dreams again!_

A bubble popped against Taichi's cheek.


	2. Bubble Omelets

Taichi woke up. He groaned as he heard blasts from Hikari's whistle.

"Did mama already go out?" Taichi mumbled.

Taichi shifted under the blanket. He felt the pillow stick to his face when he tried to sit up. He rubbed his cheek and yawned. The pillow slumped and then fell off his bed. It hit the floor.

Hikari let out a louder blast. Taichi yelped.

"What is it?"

Taichi raised up his fists. He threw himself to the ladder. Something soapy was on the edge of the bed. He nearly slipped off. He smelled spit and soap. He dropped his fists and then gripped the top of the ladder. He leaned over with a grimace.

The ladder dripped with what looked like spit and soap. He looked around and saw the whole room had splotches of the spit-soap. It dripped down the walls. The floor looked slippery. Hikari was standing by the door. She whistled at the monster from last night.

Taichi shivered. The monster had something to do with the mess. And it didn't go away.

"Hey! What did you do?" Taichi crawled over to the ladder. "Is this monster spit?"

Taichi tried to climb down quickly. His hands stuck and his feet slipped. Then he fell from the ladder. He yelled. The room blurred. Hikari whistled.

"Ow," Taichi whined after hitting the ground.

His arm was pinned under him. His knees hurt. The monster spit began to soak through his pajamas. Some of it dripped into his hair.

"Taichi-mon?"

Taichi flinched as he lifted his head. He blinked at large yellow eyes. A bubble bloomed out of the monster's mouth.

"You made a mess!" Taichi screamed.

Taichi rolled and threw out his free arm. Hikari's whistle turned shrill. Taichi missed the monster. He bumped his head against the ladder. The monster let out a cry.

Taichi wiggled until both his hands rested by his face. Tears dripped down his face. He blinked and saw blurry yellow eyes. Taichi was partially under the bed. The back of his head was against the ladder.

"If you're not going to get out, I'll make you get out." Taichi said.

Taichi grit his teeth. He wriggled under the bed. Bubbles hit his face. A hand wrapped around his foot. The shrill whistle hurt his ears.

Taichi reached out one hand. It burned. He blinked and saw the strange squares from the computer again. The darkness under the bed gleamed green.

"Taichi…mon…"

Taichi blinked. The monster's eyes blinked. The two had gotten closer. Taichi reached out to the monster. It leaned forward.

"You mon - "

Taichi touched a fuzzy rounded point. One of the ears. It twitched under Taichi's hand. The pain went away.

Taichi felt grass underneath him. It felt rougher than the park he played in with his ball and Hikari. The monster - no, Taichi knew its name…

"Botamon," Botamon told smiled at him. Botamon had no mouth, but its eyes crinkled like he saw characters on tv smile.

"Taichi," Taichi said. "Not Taichi-mon."

Taichi looked up at an unfamiliar blue sky. His hand dropped from Botamon's head.

He founded himself under the bed again. He blinked. Botamon purred. Taichi dropped his gaze to Botamon. Its eyes were closed. There were no more bubbles.

Taichi suddenly heard Hikari's blast. She yanked his leg. He yelped. He smacked his face into the floor. Hikari dragged him out. His nose hurt again.

There was a short blast from the whistle. Taichi moaned. He rolled onto his back. He scrunched his face, and tears bubbled as it hurt his face more.

"Taichi! Taichi!" Botamon yelled.

Taichi relaxed his face. A force hit his stomach. Taichi bounced up. He choked and blinked out more tears. He sat himself up, and felt the force roll into his lap.

Taichi's nose throbbed. He felt something trickle out of it. He rubbed his eyes. They stung. Taichi looked down. Botamon grinned and started to bounce. Botamon jumped up and bopped Taichi. He winced, but caught Botamon.

There was a soft twee from Hikari's whistle. Taichi looked at Hikari. The whistle fell out of her mouth.

"Botamon?"

"Taichi's my friend now." Botamon snuggled into Taichi's chest.

Taichi met Hikari's eyes. Hikari padded over to him. She patted Botamon's head. Botamon purred.

"He's soft," Hikari said.

"Yeah. Um…" Taichi looked down. "Take him so I can make breakfast."

Hikari took Botamon. Taichi got up. His clothes stuck to him, and he struggled to pry himself from the floor. Something ripped.

Taichi left their bedroom. He partially shut the door and looked around. Mama and papa were gone. Their apartment was quiet. He made his way into the kitchen. He collected a pan and then the ingredients to make some eggs.

_Omelets,_ Taichi thought. _But not Botamon omelets._

Taichi heard the door open further.

"I'm making omelets." A whistle in response. Taichi sighed as he broke the eggs. He continued the preparation. He heard Botamon chattering and Hikari collected some plates.

Taichi was stirring the eggs when he felt Miko. Her tail curled on his leg. Her bell chimed and she meowed. Taichi continued to stir. He moved his leg. Miko yowled.

"Hikari," he said. "Miko's hungry."

A blast from the whistle. He heard a chair scrapping the floor. Taichi poured the eggs into the pan . He heard Hikari pour food into the bowl.

"Oh! Oh!" Botamon yelled. There was a clatter. Taichi turned. The spatula dug into the eggs.

Hikari held the food bag. Miko leaned over the full bowl. She hissed at Botamon. Botamon's ears twitched. He scooted closer. Hikari set the bag down. Miko growled.

"Botamon, that's not yours." Taichi turned more. "Go wait!"

Taichi threw his hands towards the tables. He scowled at Botamon.

Botamon looked up at Taichi. Its ears twitched more. Then it looked back at Miko. Botamon scooted back until it was under the table.

Hikari let out a hum through the whistle. She picked the bag back up. Taichi turned back to the eggs. He frowned because one side was dark brown. He sighed.

Taichi made three plates worth of omelets. He took two and carried them to the table. He set one in front of Hikari. Botamon hummed. Hikari whistled and started to wiggle out of the chair. Taichi set the other plate down.

"You go ahead and eat," he said.

Taichi bent down. Botamon was immediately in his face.

"Food?"

"Yeah." Taichi grabbed Botamon. Botamon pressed against Taichi's sleep shirt. "It's probably okay for you to sit on the table."

Taichi set Botamon by the plate. Taichi went back to get his plate. He came back and saw Botamon's plate was empty.

"More?"

"I only have - " Taichi was interrupted by Hikari's whistle blast.

Botamon turned. Taichi sat down. He ate and watched Hikari. She split the rest of her eggs with Botamon.

"Hey Botamon," Taichi said. He finished his eggs. "Where'd you come from?"

Taichi remembered the weird place when he was under the bed. He looked down at his hand. It hadn't burned since then. He finally saw some mark on it. He poked it with his thumb. He frowned at it, but then Botamon trilled.

"Oh! Not here," he said. "I come from the other world! Or…um…the one we saw."

Hikari whistled a question. Taichi shrugged.

"I've never seen it before," Taichi said. "Was it in a different country?"

He reached for Botamon's plate. He stacked it onto his. Hikari pushed hers toward him. Her fingers splayed out. The plate skidded on the table. Botamon watched as he considered an answer. Taichi reached towards and then took the plate. Botamon swayed and hummed.

"I don't know what a country is," Botamon answered.

Taichi groaned, "It's…a big place. Where you have - people in charge."

Taichi frowned. What was a country? He knew Japan was one, but he didn't really know why.

Botamon hummed and swayed on the table again. Taichi got up and took the plates to the sink. He stood on his toes to place them in. He reached for the knob, but stopped when Hikari let out a sharp whistle. Taichi stumbled back. He turned and was about to run to the table.

Miko hissed and bounded away. Hikari still sat at the table. She stared at the place Botamon had been sitting. Instead of a black fuzzy thing, there was now a pink monster with long squiggly ears.

"W - what are you?" Taichi went up to the table. He looked around the room, but he did not see Botamon anywhere. "Where did Botamon go? Did you eat him?"

The pink monster laughed. It had large teeth along with large, reddish eyes. These eyes looked more like an animal.

"I was Botamon," the monster said. "But now I'm Koromon!"

"…What?" Taichi asked. Hikari let out a questioning whistle.

"I digivolved," Koromon said. Koromon frowned. "It's what we do…in the digital world!"

"Digital world?" Taichi asked.

Taichi stepped closer to Hikari. If Koromon was lying, he might have fight off Koromon. He wasn't sure how he would, but he was Hikari's older brother and bigger than her. Botamon had been small, and Taichi had -

Koromon grinned and showed off his teeth. His ears twitched. Hikari whistled and got out of her chair. Taichi watched her reach for Koromon. Koromon grinned and latched onto her face.

"No!" Taichi shouted. He heard loud sucking noises. He pulled Koromon off - and then Koromon latched onto his face to kiss him.

Taichi heard Miko growling and Hikari's whistles as he wrestled with Koromon. Taichi stumbled into the couch before he pulled Koromon off. He threw him over the couch. Taichi gasped.

"You can't do that!" Taichi said.

"Do what?" Koromon asked.

"Kiss people without asking them." Taichi rubbed his face. It was sore and his nose was the worst. He wiped at it. He winced.

Koromon's ears went flat. He looked down with a frown. Koromon whined.

"Don't do it again," Taichi said. He touched his nose with another wince. Then he turned.

Hikari stood and watched. The whistle hung in her mouth. She rubbed her face.

"You okay?" Taichi asked.

Taichi walked up to her. There were no lasting marks on her face. Hikari nodded. She trilled and looked around him. Taichi glanced back. Koromon peered up from the arm of the couch. Taichi huffed.

"It's fine now."

Koromon's ears went up. Hikari gave a short blast. She walked around Taichi. Taichi turned away. His chest tightened as he remembered the computer room.

"Oh no!"

Taichi ran to the computer room. His papa was going to be mad about the mess.

_Unless papa already knows_, Taichi thought. _Would he have seen it already? Why didn't mama and papa wake us up if they noticed?_

Taichi stopped at the door. It was closed. He reached up and opened the door. He stepped into the computer room. The front of the computer - screen, that was the word - was still broken and blank. It was bent and lying on the floor. The floor littered in front of the desk were shiny from the little pieces of the computer screen. Taichi stopped. He looked down at his feet. He hadn't gotten hurt last night, but he wasn't supposed to walk barefoot when something was broken. He looked and saw pieces still by the doorway.

Taichi went back to the bedroom. If he was going to clean up the mess, he needed to get dressed. He stopped. He was still sticky from the spit. He heard Hikari and Koromon on the couch.

Taichi went into their bedroom and got ready. He could bathe later. He wasn't that sticky from the soap spit. He saw Miko's tail drooping from his bed. He hurried to the front room and carried his shoes to the computer room.

Taichi pulled his shoes on. Then frowned.

_Wait, I should have something to get the pieces._

If Taichi couldn't step on the glass, he might not be allowed to touch it. Taichi wasn't sure. He slipped his shoes off and went to find something to help him clean.


	3. The Egg in the Sky

Taichi dumped the rest of the glass into the trash can from the dust pan. He pushed it under the desk. He moved the chair in front of it and the computer. The leg of the chair bumped into the computer. There were scratches on the floor where Taichi had shoved the computer across the floor.

Taichi turned to take the dustpan back. He slipped off his shoes and picked them up. He pulled the door shut. Taichi walked through the apartment. He heard Hikari making soft whistle noises. He placed his shoes back at the front. He put away the dustpan.

Hikari let out a very loud whistle. Taichi knocked his mama's cleaning supplies to the floor.

"Hikari?" Taichi called.

Hikari blew her whistle again. It was reaching shrill levels. Taichi ran to the bedroom.

The door was cracked open. Taichi threw it open. It banged against the wall. Taichi hurried in. Hikari lay on the floor. She glanced back at Taichi. She gave soft whistles before looking back under the bed.

Taichi jumped to the floor. He gasped when he saw Koromon. Koromon was pressed against the wall. Taichi could not see Koromon's pupils. Its eyes looked completely white. Taichi began to crawl towards the shivering Koromon.

"Koromon?" Taichi asked. His hand burned as he got closer to Koromon. "Koromon, what's wrong?"

Taichi clenched his teeth. He reached out towards Koromon. The mark on Taichi's was almost a shape. It seemed to move. Koromon stopped shaking, unlike the mark.

Koromon's eyes darkened. The top of its mouth pressed against Taichi's marked hand. Taichi and Koromon gasped.

The floor no longer pressed against Taichi's stomach. The bed was not above either of them. Taichi looked up. The unfamiliar blue sky was far above them. He dropped his hand down, and felt the rough grass.

Koromon moaned. The sky darkened.

"Koromon?" Taichi asked. He dropped his head. "Koromon!"

Koromon had changed again. It - he sparked and shivered. Whatever he was changing into, the new monster couldn't decide if it would be huge or small. Sometimes it was only a little taller than Taichi, sometimes it was much bigger. The sparks ebbed around Taichi and through him and back again.

The sky darkened further. It turned to night. The ground vanished. Taichi yelled as he started to fall. The new monster reached out. It grabbed Taichi in large claws.

Koromon grunted. He pulled Taichi closer. Taichi struggled. His hand burned so much that it hurt his arm and side.

"Taichi…mon," Koromon grunted.

Taichi hiccuped and cried. He blinked at the blurry Koromon.

"Koromon," Taichi hiccuped. "Koromon…"

"Taichi," Koromon grunted. "Not Ko…"

Koromon tightened his grip on Taichi. Taichi's shirt tore. He felt the claws along his sides. Taichi gasped with a wince. A tremor shook his foot. He gripped one of Koromon's claws.

The mark felt like it was digging into his hand. Taichi choked with more tears.

Numbers flashed in his eyes. Taichi squirmed. Green squares surrounded them. Koromon dropped him. A name formed on Taichi's lips as the two separated.

"Agumon?"

Taichi fell onto his back. He blinked. It was dark, and there were tall buildings. His stomach growled. Taichi sat up. He winced.

Agumon was collapsed on the road. Taichi stood. He stumbled to the - words popped in his head - _digimon_. Agumon was a _digimon_.

"Agumon?" Taichi asked. He touched the tall digimon's knee. "Agumon?"

Wind blew through Taichi's brown hair. It brushed against his head. Taichi's bare feet were prodded by the sidewalk.

A shiver shook Taichi's hand. The shiver shot up through Agumon. Agumon lifted his head. Taichi blinked at Agumon. Agumon's pupil shrank. His head went up to the sky.

"Pepper breath!" Agumon shot fire from his mouth. Taichi fell back.

"Agu - what's…" Taichi looked up. "Agumon what's that?"

Agumon fired at a shiny, giant egg in the sky. It hung above the buildings. Taichi blinked, and the egg lowered. Agumon continued his attack. Some of the fireballs hit the egg. The fireballs disappeared, though a large crack in the middle appeared. It was darker than the sky.

Then, one of Agumon's attacks hit a building. Taichi watched a window for an apartment blow up. He covered his ears. The glass shattered and he closed his eyes.

"Agumon, stop! Stop, stop, stop!" Taichi shook his head. He screamed. "Stop!"

Taichi opened his eyes. His face was wet with tears and snot. He rubbed at his eyes.

Agumon stepped forward. Taichi saw Agumon's head turn back. Agumon suddenly turned, and with a roar, he bounded away.

"Agumon!"

Taichi ran after the bigger monster - could this thing still be a friend, the one who had been nice to him and Hikari? Taichi tripped and fell. He felt his hands and knees scrape. He skidded and rolled to a stop. Taichi hiccuped as he heard Agumon firing more against the egg. He heard more things break.

"Taichi!"

Taichi looked around. He rubbed his eyes.

"Taichi!" A whistle blast followed that shout.

"Hikari?" Taichi called back.

"Taichi sat up. Then he stood. He turned and saw his little sister toddling towards him. She had trouble running to him and keeping her balance. He looked back. He saw Agumon shimmering like he had in the weird place.

"Hikari, it's dangerous." Taichi ran to her. His bare feet dragged against the hard ground. His knees and hands bled. "Go home!"

Hikari let out another whistle. She slammed in Taichi's stomach. They both came to a halt. Taichi slowly hugged her as she gripped him. His hands stung and her red shirt was dampened with by Taichi's hands. Hikari sobbed into his shirt. She choked on her whistle. It trilled with her cries.

"I - he's dangerous," Taichi said. Snot fell on his mouth. "I - I don't know why."

Hikari gripped him tighter. The front of his shirt was soaked. The boy shook.

"I'm sorry." Taichi choked as more tears came. "I - "

Thunder shook Tokyo. Taichi felt wind on his back. He gripped Hikari close. Then the pair were knocked to the ground. Taichi's ears rang. Lights flickered.

Taichi looked up. He saw a very big bird descending. He looked down the road. Agumon kept attacking.

Taichi let go of Hikari. She shook and covered her face. He stumbled up.

"Agumon?" Taichi thought he said, but he couldn't hear himself.

Taichi grimaced as he stumbled forward. He lifted his hand up. It burned and almost had a glow to it. It went bright, then dark, then - he looked around. They weren't far from home. He felt people watching. Gleams in windows, children calling out. He looked up. There were small, bright lights in the sky.

Taichi began to hear whistling. It got louder and louder. Agumon roared. The roar deepened and windows rattled. A thud shook the ground. Taichi stopped. He looked where he had seen Agumon.

"He's…a _big_ dinosaur," Taichi said. Agumon had been a big dinosaur before, but now he really was a dinosaur with horns.

"Hikari." The whistling stopped.

"Taichi?"

Hikari's voice was behind him. He looked at her. Her pale face was paler, and her eyes were red and watery. There was dust in her brown hair. Taichi blinked as the lights on the street flickered again. Taichi looked back toward Agumon.

The giant dinosaur and the monster bird were fighting. The ground shook. There were bright lights. The road and buildings were being damaged. The bird hit Agumon. Agumon, as big as he was now, flew back.

"Hikari!" Taichi screamed.

Taichi wrapped himself Hikari. He threw them both to the ground. His hand burned and burned. Rocks flew over his back. The ground shook. Both children screamed.

The ground stilled. Taichi gripped Hikari tighter. He squeezed his face and shook. He could feel something slipping through his hands off of Hikari.

"Taichi…Hikari…"

Hikari wriggled out of Taichi's grasp. He fell to the ground. He opened his eyes. He was still, eyes to the road.

"Koromon?" Hikari asked.

"No," Agumon said. "I've…gone…" There was a groan. "I'm Greymon now."

"You're hurt!" Hikari cried.

The bird let out a shout. Taichi felt the ground shaking.

"I can…get the bird back."

"You're hurting people," Taichi said. He pushed up onto his knees. His hands and knees stung. Bits of rock tore into the scrapes. Tears dripped off his face. "The bird and you have to be hurting people, and why?"

Taichi stood. The world tilted. He stumbled to the shivering Greymon. Greymon was so bright, orange with blue stripes. Botamon had been black with fur. Koromon pink and smooth. Agumon had been yellow and tall. Greymon's eyes gleamed like large Koromon eyes.

The bird screeched. It stomped closer and closer. Lights flickered. Some shattered. Lightning crashed into a light post.

"Taichi," Hikari said. "He's hurt. And - and he's going to help. He'll make the bad bird go away."

Taichi stumbled past Hikari. She grabbed at him, but he fell against Greymon.

"Why do you trust him?" Taichi asked.

Taichi touched Greymon with the marked hand.

The two went back to the weird place. Taichi could see a tear now, and a glowing rows of…

"More eggs?" Taichi questioned. He saw a trail of light going from him to the eggs. "What…what - "

"Chosen," Greymon rumbled. "That's what it is - what you and Hikari are, _Chosen_."

"Chosen for what?" Taichi asked.

He looked around. The place had gotten darker. He realized Greymon's tail was curled around him. Taichi shivered.

"I will stop," Greymon said. "The hurting. I didn't…please, give me a boost. The Chosen help Digimon."

"How?" Taichi blinked and felt something in his hand. He looked down. "Why…do I have Hikari's whistle?"

"Use it," Greymon told him. He sounded tired.

Taichi lifted it to his mouth. He pressed the whistle to his dry lips. He dropped his hand from Greymon.

The bird's head was blue with its attack. It threw wind at them. Hikari covered her face. She fell onto her bottom.

Taichi blew the whistle.

Bright light filled the city. Greymon rushed forward. Taichi watched Greymon and the bird slam into each other. The egg fell over them. Greymon shoved the bird into the giant egg. He still blew the whistle, even as he realized he was alone. Symbols brushed past him. They scattered as he was pulled closer, and the row of eggs were before him. They vanished, and then he was inside the giant egg.

Taichi couldn't stop blowing the whistle.

The bird and Greymon were curled up inside the giant egg. The egg shrank. The monsters shrank. Greymon and the bird burst into light. The egg shrank against Taichi.

Taichi stopped blowing the whistle. He screamed and blacked out.


	4. Chosen Child of Darkness

Taichi woke up with grass in his mouth. He spat out the grass. He was dirty. He tried to use his hands to wipe away the grass, but they stung and rocks fell into his mouth from them.

"Hikari?" Taichi called.

Did he and Hikari end up in the park? Taichi hoped she wasn't hurt.

Hikari did not answer.

"Hikari!" He fell trying to stand. His trembled in pain. He felt tears. "Hikari, where are you?"

Taichi stood. His body ached. He felt feathers fall off his shoulder. Had the bird lost some?He wiped his eyes. He shook and cried harder. Soon, his vision cleared. He looked down at his hands.

The mark on his hand now had a form. A ball with strings wrapped around it it. Lines from those strings went down to his wrist and began to go up his fingers. They were dark, and shone through the dried blood. And the - his mama had called that scabbing last time he had gotten a bandaid for a scrape.

Taichi's throat burned. He began to cough. Feathers flew up from under his arms. He spat out fire. It landed near his toes.

Taichi screamed and scrambled back. He struggled to get up. The fire caught the grass on fire. He turned and ran. He brushed past some trees before he remembered he had lost Hikari.

Taichi stopped and called, "Hikari?"

Taichi looked around. He stood at the edge of a forest. His ears twitched - Taichi winced at their movement. He heard…something. Far away. He couldn't tell what it was, just that it was making noise.

Taichi felt his heart quicken. His throat burned again. He forced himself to swallow. He burped smoke.

"What - am I…dreaming?"

_A dream!_ He smiled. He had never realized he was in a dream before; what could he do now that he knew he was in a dream? Maybe fly?

Taichi flapped his arms. He saw they were feathered, but he didn't fly. He just made a mess. Feathers stuff in his hair and clothes. Taichi huffed and sat down.

He burped small flames. He sneezed when smoke went up his nose. He rubbed his nose. His hands felt rough. Taichi scratched at his arms. He felt the feathers drooping down.

_Maybe I need to jump from up high,_ Taichi thought.

Feathers poked Taichi's legs and bottom. He heard the noise again. He rubbed his ears. Something…breaking…closer he thought. Was it the same sound as before?

Taichi's stomach growled. He rubbed his stomach. He should be able to summon food. Taichi closed his eyes. He squeezed them tight.

_Give me a bowl of rice, _Taichi thought. _With, um…anything!_

Taichi opened his eyes again. There was no rice. Taichi huffed. He looked around. His face lit up and he reached out. Big mushrooms were growing beneath one of the trees. Taichi tugged one free.

_Do I need to cook them?_ Taichi frowned. He coughed some smoke. _Oh! I can cook them!_

Taichi concentrated and felt like he was trying to throw up. He held the mushroom close to his mouth. He spewed out flames.

"Ow!" Taichi dropped the mushroom and shook his hand. It felt burned, and the fire went out. Taichi felt a shiver.

_Pain…? But…I felt it before. What a weird dream._ Taichi blinked as his stomach growled again.

"Just…low on energy," Taichi said. "…Like, playing soccer, um…But in a dream!"

Taichi shoved the mushroom into his mouth. He chewed quickly and swallowed. He heard a roar and his name. Taichi looked around, but he everything went blurry. His head hurt and then he collapsed.

"Taichi!" Greymon roared.

Taichi floated amongst numbers. He saw Greymon, then Agumon, then Koromon, then Botamon. Then an egg. Then the egg in a computer. He blinked.

What had he been looking at? Taichi frowned and looked around.

He saw his classmates, in class and playing. One tossed him a soccer ball. They vanished. Taichi caught the soccer ball. He frowned at it. What was it for? Then it was gone.

He saw Hikari become a baby, and then she vanished. His parents milled around. Then his parents vanished. Taichi thought he should cry, but he didn't remember why. He only saw the numbers.

He heard a final whisper.

"Taichi."

But he didn't know the name.

The boy woke up up. He felt a hand on his head. Gloved fingers brushed through his hair. He opened his eyes.

He couldn't see what was above him for a moment. There was only darkness with green…numbers. He blinked, and he saw -

"Who are you?" The face blinked as its hair brushed against the boy's head. The gloved hand dropped to the boy's chin. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

The boy frowned. He gripped the grass.

"I…I don't know," the boy admitted.

The face leaned up. It moved a hand towards the boy.

"Is this yours?" the face asked.

An object fell down. It swung on a string. The boy watched it. It gleamed when sunlight hit it. The boy shifted in the grass. He watched the thing swing.

"I don't…know," he answered.

The winced. He lifted up a hand. It burned, and a mark glowed. It was bright before it darkened to an almost black color. The face leaning above him watched, and made a noise.

"Darkness…Is that what you are?"

The boy looked up. His eyes were wet.

"I am Wizardmon." Wizardmon held out a hand.

The boy grabbed Wizardmon with his burning hand. The burning went away. The mark on his hand had dark lines burst out. The boy watched it wrap around his wrist, and then Wizardmon's wrist.

The boy squeaked. Wizardmon made no noise. The darkness faded.

"You're not a digimon," Wizardmon said. "Or…"

"Not really?" the boy finished.

Wizardmon blinked. "And you really don't remember…"

The boy looked around the world. The…Digital World. Wizardmon knew that, so he knew that. He frowned. He didn't know it before…did he?

"Kamiya-mon," Wizardmon said. "That is your name now."

"Why?"

"Only digimon live here."

The boy nodded. He could feel that was true. He frowned.

"But…I'm not - "

"A digimon," Wizardmon said. "I don't know what you are. I can feel - you will be able to be a digimon. You already kind of are."

The boy frowned, and Wizardmon brushed at the feather in the boy's arms. And then he tapped sharp teeth in the boy's mouth.

"I can help you," Wizardmon.

"Okay…So…Kamiya-mon," Kamiya-mon said. He smiled at Wizardmon. His teeth pressed against his lips.

They finally released hands. Kamiya-mon almost dropped his hand. Wizardmon dropped the object he had had before.

"Keep it," Wizardmon said. "It might help us."

"Okay." Kamiya-mon held it close to his mouth. It made a noise when he blew on it. He stuck it in his mouth and made a loud noise.

"…That's new."

Kamiya-mon blushed. He pulled the object out of his mouth. "Sorry…"

"It's fine, come one." Wizardmon put his hand on Kamiya-mon's back. "Let's go."

Kamiya-mon gripped the object in his hand. Wizardmon led him deeper into the forest. He would be a good digimon. He felt Wizardmon grin in their minds. He looked down at the mark.

_Darkness,_ Kamiya-mon thought. _I will be a Digimon of Darkness._

Kamiya-mon didn't know what that meant, but he would be a good digimon. He could feel Wizardmon's heart. He was afraid of something here, and one day Kamiya-mon would be strong enough to help.

_One day,_ Kamiya-mon thought. _I'll…_

Kamiya-mon gripped the object in his hand. His mark, his _crest_ \- the word reverberated between him and Wizardmon - thrummed against the object.


End file.
